


Stay With Me

by FactoryWorker8



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-21 04:11:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6037552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FactoryWorker8/pseuds/FactoryWorker8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would you say to your lover if they got shot?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay With Me

A shot rang out across the city.

"RYAN!"

Along the roofs of the houses, a silhouette could be seen running from where the shot sounded, before it disappeared on the horizon.

"RYAN!"

The voice sounded more distressed this time. On the roof of a building, a second figure appeared, coming up from inside.

"RYAN!" he called out for the third time. "Ryan, where are you?!"

"I'm here."

A low voice echoed around the night sky. The second figure ran across the building and crouched down to a third man slumped painfully on the floor.

"Oh God. No. Ryan, you need help. Oh God."

Ryan's hand reached up and touched the face of the other man, gently pulling his cheek down.

"John" he said calmly. "Stay with me."

"I need to get help. Let me at least call an ambulance Ry, let me get help. I won't leave you I promise." 

John placed his right hand over the hand that was still covering his cheek. John sat down where Ryan was lying, and carefully lifted the wounded man's head onto his lap. Then, he pulled out his phone from his back pocket and dialled 999.

"Hello? Yes; ambulance. My partner got shot. Where? In the chest. He's still conscious. On the roof of St. Luke's College. Ok, thank you."

John hung up and threw his phone on the ground. Running his fingers through Ryan's dark, curly locks, he said "The ambulance is on its way."

Cautiously, John placed his other hand on Ryan's chest, just above his heart. The purple shirt Ryan was wearing was soaked in blood that was seeping through the fabric.

"Does it hurt?" John whispered tenderly.

Ryan sighed, a shudder rippling through his body. "In truth, yes. But I don't mind. I've got you." Ryan settled himself into John's body, closing his eyes peacefully. "John?"

"Yes Ry?"

"Talk to me."

John paused for thought. "About what?"

"About the stars, about work, about last summer. Just talk to me. I don't want to die in silence."

"You won't die." John interrupted fiercely. "You can't die." he repeated weakly.

"John." Ryan said soothingly. "Just talk."

John took a deep breath, pulling Ryan closer and kissing his lover's forehead. "Someone told me a joke the other day. It was pretty bad. Do you want to hear it?"

"Yeah, go on then."

"It was 'Well ... well, well - three holes in the ground." John let out a single, tentative laugh.

"You're right. That is pretty bad." A smile had spread across Ryan's face in the darkness. He sighed.

"Do you remember the well in France? Last summer when we went to Gassin, in Provence?"

"Yeah." Ryan smiled as they reminisced about their recent holiday together as a couple. "We threw pennies into it to ask the ancient gods for good luck. I guess that didn't quite work."

Ryan let out a small chuckle before writhing in pain.

"Ryan! Are you ok? Stay with me. Come on, you'll live. I know you will."

John started to break down, clinging onto Ryan without hurting him. Ryan reached up a hand gently and placed it on his lover's cheek.

"I guess I shouldn't laugh anymore." he joked, putting a smile on John's face.

"Ha ... look at me. You're one who's wounded and I'm the one falling apart."

He wiped a tear from his cheek, then placed his hand tenderly on the open gunshot wound where blood was still pooling on Ryan's shirt. Ryan tensed slightly, then relaxed again, placing his own hand on top of John's and intertwining their fingers.

"John? Do you remember when we went to Montreal for your sister's wedding?"

John finished the story with a smile forming. "Yeah. After the wedding, we danced all night at the reception. We probably had a few too many drinks, but it didn't matter, because if we hadn't, I wouldn't have kissed you."

"What was it like for you John; our first kiss?"

John sighed happily. "Well, I remember I saw you sitting at the side, and I thought 'God. He looks so sexy'. So I pulled you onto the dance floor and said -"

"'I think I'm falling in love with you!'"

Ryan joined in as they both remember John's drunken one-liners.

John carried on. "And you just smiled. Then we danced. It was a slow song; 'Don't wanna miss a thing' by Aerosmith. And before the song ended, I had leant in and kissed you."

John started stroking Ryan's hair. "You asked me what it was like, when we kissed. It felt right, like I was supposed to be kissing you. But at the same time, it felt amazing. This sounds so cliché, but it felt like fireworks exploded in my mouth. I forgot about everything and everyone except us. I wanted you with all I had. And I remember, when I finally pulled away, everyone was watching us. I'll never forget the shade of red your face had gone. Then you said -"

"'Everyone's staring at us'." Ryan quoted. "Hardly the great romantic now, am I?"

"I'm not sure about that." John smirked. "I know I was drunk for a lot of that evening, but I remember I replied with 'I know', then you kissed me, with everyone watching."

John smiled happily, remembering what it felt like when Ryan had kissed him back. He took his free hand and stroked his lover's head, twisting Ryan's dark brown curls around his fingers. He paused for a moment, thinking carefully about what to say next.

"Do you remember the cheer, Ry; when you kissed me?"

"Yeah. I also remember taking your hand and saying 'I've been waiting for you'. All I could think of at that moment was how beautiful your eyes were."

"I could only think about your cheeks. They were glowing bright red. I believe you pulled me into a hug and whispered -"

'Come back to my apartment when we're finished here'."

Once again, the couple quoted their words in perfect harmony. It was surprising, considering they were drunk, how much they could actually remember of the night they confessed their love.

"We danced the night through, hand in hand, then went back to yours. What a night that was."

John chuckled and Ryan smirked, humming in agreement. His body jerked again, a pained expression catching his face. When he next spoke, his voice was breathy and strained.

"Look at the stars John. Aren't they beautiful?"

"I would run to the stars and back if it would keep you safe."

John kissed the top of Ryan's head protectively and nestled his face in the dying man's hair.

"Just stay with me John, stay with me until the end."

His voice was weak and vulnerable. Tears had started leaking down his cheeks because the pain of his wound was so intense. Ryan had carefully and tactfully brought up the topic of his imminent death without using the heart-breaking words 'I'm dying'.

"I will stay with you until hell freezes over Ry." John's hand reached into his coat pocket. "I dreamt of this night, except I never dreamt that you would be ..." he waved a hand trying to think of a suitable word. "... like this." John was thinking out loud.

A look of confusion passed over Ryan's face in the icy darkness. John opened the small black box he had pulled out of his pocket to reveal a gold band. He held the ring out for his lover to see.

"Ryan Williams. Tonight has always been the night I was going to ask you, so I don't see why I shouldn't just because you got shot. Ryan Williams." he repeated. "Will you marry me?"

Ryan turned to look at the man he was laying on in the eyes, and used one hand to pull John down to his lips and into what can only be described as a weakly passionate kiss while he mentally put everything he had into that kiss, his physical state was too weak for nothing more than a quick brush of lips. John felt Ryan's passion through the kiss, and although every fibre of his being wasted to return in just as passionately, he gave in to sense and pulled out of the kiss, wanting to keep Ryan safe and comfortable.

"Well?" John asked expectantly.

"I couldn't think of a better way to go. The answer has always been yes."

This time, it was John who initiated the kiss. It was soft and slow, and conveyed all his emotions; the love he felt for Ryan, the sad tragedy of their situation, and the fear of losing his best friend, his fiancée, his soulmate.

At that moment, the sky lit up with a flash and a loud rumble soon followed. Then the skies opened up and it began to pour.

"Ry, we need to get you inside; you'll fall ill."

John then started to move, getting ready to pick up his new fiancée. He stopped though when he felt the light touch of a hand on his cheek.

"John. I'm dying. I want to stay here with you and the stars."

Ryan's tone was calm and gentle in comparison with the frantic, worried tones of his partners. At his words though, John started to cry.

"I love you Ry. Don't ever forget that." John was fierce, his voice shaking with raw emotion as the tears streamed faster down his cheeks and into his partner's hair, mingling with the cool rain. "I love you." he repeated, but this time he had broken down and his voice had dropped to a barely audible whisper.

"I lo-" Ryan took a sharp breath. "I love you too." his speech was fragmented and riddled with pain.

It broke John's heart to see Ryan so weak and vulnerable, and it made him want to run away, but he had promised to stay. He just hoped the ambulance would arrive soon. As he listened in the darkness, he noticed Ryan's breathing was quick and shallow, and it ripped at his heart. A shiver rippled through Ryan's body and John put a hand to the other man's cheek.

"You're cold." John concluded. He shuffled, moving Ryan's body ever so slightly so that he could take off his jacked. "If I can't take you inside, you're having my coat." he placed the jacket over the body on his lap.

"But you'll-" deep breath "-get-" breath "-cold." another deep breath. Ryan flinched at how weak and raspy his voice sounded. Although he was grateful for the extra warmth John's jacket provided, he was also concerned that his would fall ill with no-one to care for him.

"I'll be fine Ry, I promise. It's you we should be worrying about."

By now, the pool of blood on Ryan's shirt had exploded and was mixing with the rain water on the ground, staining the college roof red.

Then the sky lit up with blue flashes as an ambulance screeched down the road. It stopped outside the front of the building, and a couple of emergency paramedics jumped out.

"Ry, it's going to be ok. The ambulance is here; everything is going to be fine. You'll be alright." John was partially relieved, but the rest of him knew he was kidding himself.

Tears continued to stream down the cheeks of both men, and they met on the rooftop together, mixing carelessly with the blood and the rain.

"I'm sorry John." Ryan said breathlessly. "I can't hold on any longer. It's nearly over." His speech was fragmented and weak, and he had to take deep breaths every few words. "Be happy. For me?" Ryan weakly pleaded.

When John said nothing, Ryan continued. "I love you John, don't forget. I love you."

Then Ryan turned his head and kissed the only partner he had ever had for the last time. John kissed him back, briefly, before Ryan pulled away.

"I love you too Ryan."

That was all John was capable of saying. He caressed his fiancée, waiting for the end.

"John." Ryan whispered, one last time, taking comfort in the name and the man beside him.

Then he took a deep breath and shut his eyes. Everything went silent and still. Only John's hand moved, still stroking Ryan's cheek.

"He's gone." John whispered to the paramedics who had got to the roof seconds too late. He was, and sounded broken. "He's gone."


End file.
